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HOME RUN CHASESeptember 28, 2001Tony GwynnSAN FRANCISO, CALIFORNIA Q. Looking at this weekend, with what could happen with Rickey and Barry, you went through a similar thing with McGwire and your 3,000th hit, could you describe the atmosphere and what it might be like? TONY GWYNN: The atmosphere in St. Louis was unbelievable those last two games, and I'm sure it's going to be something similar tonight. There's a lot of anticipation, seeing if Barry can do it. On our side, there's a lot of anticipation to see if Rickey could do it. There's not going to be many opportunities in the course of a year where you are going to have two guys in one game having a chance to do something that's never been done. So that should make it pretty interesting. The three-game series I think will be pretty exciting from that respect, both sides trying to win. You know we are trying to win the division and we are trying to finish above .500. So we are taking a lot of pride in going out and trying to prove them wrong, too. I think it will be an exciting atmosphere tonight. A lot of people are going to come to the park or watch on TV, and I hope they have a chance to see something that's never been done. Q. You've seen this game evolve in your 20 years in baseball. Three years ago, you saw the record broken with 70 home runs and now that's being threatened. What do you think these home runs are all about? TONY GWYNN: Three years from now, you'll probably be asking somebody else the same question. The players have evolved and things are happening that we haven't seen happen in this game. When McGwire did that a few years ago, I think most people thought it would be a long time before we saw somebody make a run at it again, and here is Barry hitting his 67th. And I think guys, they are working at their craft a lot more than they did in the past. What he's done is truly amazing, because, you know, he's the guy that you are not going to let beat you, and if you take that in the context of what he's done, that really makes it truly unbelievable. You know, the year McGwire hit 70, that was the pinnacle, and it doesn't take away from either one of them -- either one of them. McGwire, that was just the unthinkable, and now here is Barry sitting at 67, and the Padres are in town, a team that -- we'll see what happens. I don't know why it's going to ends. I thought somebody would hit .400 by now and that's still on the books. I didn't think anybody would hit 70, but there's Barry Bonds with 67. So, you know, we'll see. Q. What do you see Barry doing differently at the plate now that at 37 of years of age has allowed him to do that? TONY GWYNN: Are you surprised because he's 37? Are you? Q. You don't normally break through all of these different levels at this age. TONY GWYNN: That's what I'm talking about. I think guys -- if you just look around, there are a lot of guys in the league who are doing things at 32, 33, 34, that they had not done at any other time in their career. And I think Barry, sometimes we take him for granted because he's basically done the same things year-in and year-out. But the things that catches your eye, he's got 67 homers. You take the 67 and put it at 47, you are not going to be that surprised at that. He's done it, because he's done it time after time. He's the kind of guy that you kind of take for granted because he's gone a good job his whole career, but the 67 catches your eye; and the fact that he's 37 years old, catches your eye, too. But you have to look at the big picture. The big picture is he's done the same thing his whole career. So I'm not surprised, because the one thing about Barry Bonds that really hasn't changed since he came up is the stroke. The stroke is the same stroke. He's got the most efficient stroke in the game. It's short, it's to the ball and he gets through. Now, Barry is a lot bigger now than he was when he came up, but it's the stroke. It's not the size of the guy; it's the stroke. The stroke is still the same. Q. When you talk about Barry's patience at the plate, is he one of the most patient hitters you've ever seen, and if so, how does that help him? TONY GWYNN: He is, and I think that's why he's in the position he's in. If you just take into context that he's the guy you're not going to let beat you; that's the first thought. The second thought is when he goes up to the plate and there's guys in scoring position, usually, if first base is open, you bat around him; you put him on. So you figure he's probably getting -- he gets four or five at-bats. He's probably getting, you know, two, three, four pitches to hit, all night. And when he hits it -- when he gets one to hit and he hits it, it goes outs of the ballpark. It's amazing. It really is. His stroke is so good, he doesn't have to hit strikes. When you think about it, for years I've done my thing, and a lot of times, I know I can hit pitches that aren't strikes, and he does that, too, only he does that with power, where I hit a ball up and out and he can line it to left field. He hits it out. He hits it out of the ballpark. That's why to me this is so basic, because McGwire was the same way. Guys say, "We're not going to let this guy beat us." I don't know how many pitches per at-bat, but you figure five, six pitches per at-bat. Out of those 24 pitches he's seeing, only three or four of them were balls he could actually do some damage with, and Barry is the same way. You look back, like the home runs he hit in San Diego last Sunday, the first one he hit to center was not a strike; it was a ball and he hit it out. The second homer was a pretty good pitch and he hits it out to left field. So that tells you how efficient his stroke is. He doesn't have to hit strikes to hit home runs, and when you take that into context, then you know guys just aren't going to mess around with him. They are not throwing that ball, just run it off the plate and see if he'll bite. They are not throwing the ball up and in and see if he he'll bit. And if he doesn't bite, they will just put him on. So in the course of the game he's going to it two or three pitches that he can actually do something with. And if you go back to his last home run, I think he got a -- I forget who was pitching, but he had a fastball that was up and he fouled it back, and you can see on the look on his face; he thought, "That was a pitch I could get that I was going to hit." And the next pitch, he hits one out and that doesn't happen very often when you are going to get two pitches back-to-back that you can really take a good whack at it, hit it, because usually you know you are going to get one pitch probably per at-bat that you can really do something with. Q. There's two other records on the line, Rickey and the runs scored and Barry with the home run record, which one do you think is the most impressive? TONY GWYNN: I think the runs are more impressive. Like I say, you talk about Barry Bonds and patience, he knows he's not going to hit get very many pitches to hit but he knows he's going to help this ballclub win by taking the walk and hopefully working himself around to score. Rickey, when I think of the fact that he's in a position where he's going to be the all-time leader in three categories in baseball, he's hitting 10 or 12 years ago, I saw him break Babe Ruth's career walk record earlier this year and now he's in a position where he could break Ty Cobb's run-scoring record, the runs is an amazing thing. Because that type of player, Rickey Henderson was, his whole game, everything that he does in his game is towards scoring that run to help his team win. And so, you know, you take the walks, you take the base hits, you take the stolen bases, all three of those are for the last one, which is to score the run. So the runs, that's an amazing accomplishment. Q. Should that be more important -- TONY GWYNN: I don't know. Myself, I'm kind of partial to his. But I understand what you're talking about. We've been talking it about it here for the last week, we're not sure what we're supposed to do as his teammates when he does break this record. Do we run out on the field and high-five him or do we wait until he comes back to the dugout? We don't know. Just like Rickey and his steals record, he broke that thing ten years ago and he's just adding on to it. But with runs, I'm sure Ty Cobb, when he set the record, he just kept on adding to his record. We're not sure, but the runs record is pretty impressive, and you know, maybe we should put more emphasis on it. I know he is. That's the one he really wants; he wants the runs-scored record. I felt like the last couple of days, I tried to motivate him: "Come on, you need 11 hits and whatever number of games you've got to get it going, we need a multiple-hit games." And he rolls out six in Colorado in the first two games, and then decides he's going to take a couple days off because his hip is bothering him. But we all know here is where he would like to do it, and I'm glad he's got that kind of confidence, because I know how hard the last ten were for me. Sometimes you get to where you can't swing the bat the way you want to, and I think the fact he's confident right now, that's a plus. We'd really like to see him do both of them. Q. How hard do you see him work? TONY GWYNN: He's 42 and he does his own thing. I don't see him in the weight room. You don't see him doing things around the clubhouse, but he tries to take care of himself. You know, when you look at the big picture, I think you understand, this weekend is what he's probably thought about for a long time. If I remember 10, 12 years ago he was talking about making a run at Ty Cobb's record and I really didn't pay that much attention -- when you saw how far away he was, you just didn't think about it. But I think he's exactly where he wanted to be, to be in the position to make a run at this record, and now he is. And I'm sure that's why he's taken care of himself because he still looks like he's 22. He still runs around, he's head-first diving and doing the things he's done for 23 years. It's amazing that he's lasted this long because he's taken a beating, but he still has that enthusiasm for the game. He still loves to work at it. He still loves to talk about it and he's really been just a joy to be around because he keeps our clubhouse efficient. Q. You talked about how Barry Bonds has just been taken for granted, does what he's doing now put him in the class with Ruth make him the best player ever? TONY GWYNN: No. He got in that class a long time ago, but it's taken something like this for you guys to realize that. I'm not surprised at what he's doing, I'm not. He's been that good for this long, and at 37, he just keeps rolling along and throwing numbers on the board. You look at last year, he hit 49 homers, he could have been MVP again last year but he wasn't. He probably could have been MVP a couple other times and he wasn't. That's what happens when you put those kind of years like he on the board. People just learn to expect it and it takes something like this for people to kind of open their eyes and say, you know what, he's been around 17 years, 15, 16 years, whatever the number may be. You know, the home runs, I think, in a sense are kinds of surprising, but when you look at his stroke, it's not. Look at some of those homers he hits. He hit a laser beam that went way right, he hit a home run earlier against us this year, Myers (ph) was pitching and he threw it about three inches inside of the plate and he hit it straight, and after the game that's all guys were talking about is, "How did he do that?" You go get the tape, you put it in and you play it in slow motion and you look at the stroke, and then you understand why. I've understood for a long time why he does what he does. It's efficient. It's short, it's to the ball and if you get there, you if get into good position and you just take the swing, you've got to trust the swing. That ball in particular, you can't try to do anything extra. You've just got to take the swing and he does it consistently and he gets the ball out of the ballpark. And you all sit here like, "Wow," you know, and our young guys are like, "Wow." But really, when you understand the mechanics, it's not surprising. Q. Do you think the lack of appreciation is influenced by Barry's public image and have you ever talked to him about it? TONY GWYNN: I think there's no question that Barry has said some things or done some things that, you know, people just aren't going to forget. And yes, I've talked to him, but Barry is Barry, and for you guys to cover him, I think you know what I'm talking about. He's going to do things the way that he sees fit. We used to rag Barry at the All-Star Games every year. The thing that -- the reason why I'm smiling is because I've noticed a change in the last three or four years. He's mellowed out a little bit. He's a lot calmer than he used to be. He does press conferences every now and then. Before, you could not have gotten that out of him. Now, I saw one with him where he had his daughter with him up there, and that tells me he's mellowed out and he's starting to understand that people just want to understand how he's doing what he's doing and he's starting to talk about it a little more. But he's also guarded. He's not going to let you in too far. I'm one of the lucky ones because I've known him his whole Major League career. I know what type of person he is. He's really deep down a good-hearted person and he loves his family, he loves this game, but he's not going to just open the door and let everybody in. So like I said, I feel fortunate, but I'm also in a position where -- he ragged on me in typical Barry Bonds style where he said I gave him some hitting tips and he hit two home runs. And you ran all the way from our side to the Giants' side and let him get out of dodge and left me hanging with the press to deal with it. That's also typical Barry Bonds. (Laughter.) I said, "This weekend I'm going to get him back." So I'm going to get him back sooner or later. Q. Barry talked to you last Sunday and you talked to him, what do those kinds of moments mean to you in the final days of your career? TONY GWYNN: It's really nice because you know that some of the stuff that you talk about has sunk in. I remember him as a young guy, coming out of Arizona State, playing for the Pirates, and he came over and introduced himself and started talking about hitting and stuff. The kind of conversation we had on Sunday was one of those that good hitters know what each other is talking about. Sometimes you describe it differently. Sometimes it's the hand gestures and things you do are different than I would do, but I understood what he was talking about. So those moments here coming down the stretch are really nice. I didn't really think I could, but I've enjoyed the last three months, three and a half months of this season, just for that reason alone. Just having the opportunity to talk with guys and see if something you said five, ten years ago, they remember. And they do. It's surprising. I said this all along this year, I just never really thought about what kind of impact I had on the game. I just thought about trying to be the best player I could be, trying to help my side win. And every time you come up to the plate or get in the on-deck circle, people are clapping and happy to see you one last time. It's really been wonderful. Q. Do you sense there's as much excitement at this run at the home run record as in '98, and if not, why? TONY GWYNN: You answered that question. Do you sense that there's as much excitement? Why? Q. Not so much time has gone by, the pennant race, the tragedy -- TONY GWYNN: There you go. I agree with you wholeheartedly. That's it. It has not been that much time has elapsed since McGwire broke the record. The national tragedy is obviously going to have an impact on it. Q. Also, with the West Coast, the fact that a lot of his home runs are hit late at night? TONY GWYNN: I'm sure that has something to do with it, too. The guys on the West Coast never seem to get as much credit as those on the East Coast because people don't want to stay up late to see what's happening on west coat. I tell you, there's a whole bunch of people on the East Coast watching tonight, watching for the next nine games to see what happens. I'm a baseball fan. It's times like this that I think if you love the game of baseball, even if Barry Bonds isn't one of your favorites players, you're going to watch. You're going to watch and you're going to want to see that moment, if he can do it. I feel the same way about Rickey Henderson and seeing if he can score two runs, if he can get five hits. Because I'm a fan, and records are made to be broken and to me it doesn't really matter who that guy is that breaks it. To me, we should all sit back and applaud somebody's effort in making a run at it. So that's what I'm doing going to do. I'm still a punch-hitter but I'm still going to be sitting on the bench. I'm a fan, too. I'm going to be watching the game and I want to win. I don't want to watch Barry just tee off on it and hit four in a night. I don't want to be a part of that. I want to be a fan and do my job and try to do it in a professional manner. Now, you know, Barry just happened to tie this record or break this record, I'm going to stand there and I'm going to clap, because there's a possibility that he's going to do something that has never been done, and I think that sometimes that supersedes all the rest of it. But I'm a professional, too. I want to win. We're trying to get above .500. We're trying to finish above .500. He's got 67, so he's got to get four more before I'll break down and start clapping, but until we get to that point, I'll be watching just like everybody else. Q. Has Barry talked about the fact that he's been blessed genetically and how soon do you start looking towards his son? TONY GWYNN: How old is he, 11? Well, you've just got to keep an eye on him. There's a lot of potential Major League players out there now. You're right, though. Like I said, I've known Barry since he came into the big leagues, but like I said, last weekend, he bagged on me. He said that I could be the head coach but I couldn't be the hitting coach because I would be teaching everybody to be contact hitters. And I just said, "Basically you're just a contact hitter with power," and that's what he is. He's a contact hitter with power. What you do will come out. If you are a power hitter, it's going to come out. And as a coach, my job is just to try to teach him to do it the right way, and whatever hitter you are, that's what's going to come out. And so that's what I said. Then he comes back after that game and points the finger at me, something I did, and I just thought it was hilarious; that's typical Barry Bonds. As a coach you are always looking for the best players. And you know, in his case, in his son's case, I know what his dad did. I know what type of player he was, but he's still Barry Bonds; so he's still going to have Barry Bonds in him, which is going to be tough to deal with. But you catch him early enough, you start talking to him early enough, you know, maybe he can make a difference. I told you I would get him back. (Laughter.) Q. You sound so engaged and passionate about the game so far. Has it actually hit you that this is your last season and you are about to retire? TONY GWYNN: Yeah, it is. It hits me every now and then. You know, something will happen or you'll be talking to somebody and you realize that time is running out. It's kinds of sad, because I love what I do. I've loved it for 20 years and I'm not going to get a chance to get in that batter's box one more time and do whatever you do on the baseball field. But the decision I made, I'm comfortable with. I know it's time. Come the 7th, I don't think I'll be this composed on the 7th. But, I'm doing exactly what I want to do. I wanted to retire and I wanted to go into coaching. I feel fortunate to be in that position, where when I know I walk off the field on the 7th, I'm walking right into exactly what I want to do. As players we always talk about, never going back to the park, never going to watch a game again, going to go fishing and sit in my recliner and then a month later, you're dying to do something. Well, I'm not going to be like that because I know exactly what I'm going to be doing. That makes it a whole lot easier. That makes it a whole lot easier knowing that on the 7th, when my career ends, I've got to go to work the next day. It's a good feeling, because that's what I want to do. These guys think I'm crazy. They think I'm out of my mind to go into something where I'm going to have to work that hard to be successful, but I think people who know me, it's a perfect fit. It's exactly what I wanted to do. So, emotionally, it's tough, because I know there are a lot of people out there that have enjoyed what I've done and did not get a chance to see that and so it affects them and I know it affects me. So, I know Sunday is going to be really tough, but I'll get through it. I hope to have as much passion about that last day as I do today, but I'll get through it and I'll go on to the next step, and I'll look forward to going on there and just turning that page on that last chapter. It's going to be tough, but I'll get through it. Q. Are you going to write anything? TONY GWYNN: I'm not a speech writer. I'm a waiter. I just wait. I speak from the heart and you hope it comes out okay. I'll give a lot of thought to it. It's basically just my chance to think say thank you to everybody, all of the people who put me in this position to play 20 years. But no notes, no long pieces of paper. You know, take out of your pocket and start reading it off; I'm not doing it that way. Q. Is there any chance you'll start on Sunday? TONY GWYNN: Zero. Q. Would you like to lead off the game and get your one-bat at out of the way or would you rather pinch-hit? TONY GWYNN: I would rather do it the way I've been doing it. Situation comes up, guys hope the game is on the line; that you go out the door that way. Really, it's not going to matter one way or the other. I would love to start and get more than one at-bat, but my knee is not going to allow it, so I'm going to pinch-hit. If it's a good situation for me, then that's when I'll go. But you love to go out with blazing glory, but you could go and strike out or something. But whichever way it goes, it was meant to be that way and I'm not going to fret over it, because I've a 20 good years. End of FastScripts |
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